Community Briefs / VALLEY NEWS

VALLEYWIDE : Students Sent Home Early to Beat Heat

Caught in the middle of a withering heat wave, scores of San Fernando Valley elementary schools and some junior and senior high schools sent their students home early Wednesday, as some campuses also prepared to start classes earlier in the morning next week to beat the heat.

Of the 88 Valley elementary schools that are only partially air-conditioned or have no air conditioning, nearly 70 ended the day early by as much as an hour and will do so through the rest of the week, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said. Forty-three elementary schools are scheduled to shift to an "early day" schedule by next Tuesday, with the start of school bumped up by as much as half an hour.

Junior and senior high schools also shortened their days Wednesday, and several will continue the practice throughout the week, officials said. But only a handful will switch to a new early-day schedule next week, although Chatsworth and Granada Hills high schools have been using an earlier schedule since an unseasonable hot-weather spell last October.